This invention relates to a stitch transfer device for use with a knitting machine, more particularly for a V-bed knitting machine, and more specifically to a device for transferring stitches of a yarn being knitted from needies of one needle bed to needles of the other needle bed of such a machine.
In producing a knitted article such as a sweater, a skirt, a vest and so on, on a V-bed knitting machine, especially a hand-operated machine for domestic use, it is occasionally required to transfer stitches from knitting needles in one needle bed to knitting needles in the other needle bed. Conventionally, stitches are manually transferred one by one using a specific device such as that known as a transfer tool which includes a rigid wire-like element secured to a handle and having an eye formed adjacent its free end. In operation, the hooked end of a first needle in a first needle bed is first inserted into the eye of the tool, then the tool is pivoted about the hooked needle end into alignment with the needle and is moved axially to push the needle into the first needle bed whereupon a stitch is transferred from the needle onto the tool. The tool is then disengaged from the needle and is now coupled to a second needle in a second needle bed with its hooked end inserted in the eye thereof whereafter the stitch is slidingly displaced onto the hook of the second needle, for example, by pivoting the tool around the hook of the second needle. The tool is then removed from the second needle with the stitch left on the second needle, thereby completing the transfer of the stitch. This sequence of such manual operations is repeated as many times as there are stitches to be transferred. In knitting some articles, a plurality of rows of stitches may have to be transferred. Such manual operations are very troublesome to an operator and often require skill.
A stitch transfer carriage which is provided specifically for transferring stitches may also be used in addition to a knitting carriage. The transfer carriage is manually slid on the needle bed in an uninterrupted manner whereby stitches on all or selected knitting needles in one needle bed are transferred to corresponding knitting needles in the other needle bed. Thus, the transfer carriage advantageously provides for very rapid transfer of stitches. Such a transfer carriage, however, is disadvantageous in that stitches cannot always be transferred perfectly: sometimes, stitches may drop from the knitting needles, producing laddering, which, of course, is quite unacceptable in a knitted fabric, although a skilled operator may be able to remedy these defects. In order to ensure perfect transfer of stitches, some knitting machines for industrial use employ specially designed knitting needles with stitch transfer functions. Such specially designed needles, however, significantly raise the production cost of knitting machines.